


A Halloween Miracle

by chiiyo86



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Costume Parties & Masquerades, Costume Swap, Fluff, Gen, Halloween
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-05 21:24:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16375250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chiiyo86/pseuds/chiiyo86
Summary: At her Ladybug-themed Halloween party, the guests Chloé wants most to be there are the real Ladybug and Chat Noir. With Marinette and Adrien being invited as well, this doesn't seem possible, but our heroes will give her her Halloween miracle anyway.





	A Halloween Miracle

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wavewright62](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wavewright62/gifts).



> Happy Trick or Treat! I couldn't get away from a certain amount of Marinette/Adrien shippiness, given the nature of the show, but I hope you'll enjoy this gift anyway. :)

When Marinette had found the invitation in her locker at school, her first instinct had been suspicion.

“It looks like Chloé is inviting me to her Halloween party,” she whispered to Tikki. “Do you think it’s a bad joke? Or a trick of some sort?”

Tikki’s round little head poked out of Marinette’s purse. “Maybe Adrien made her do it,” she suggested. 

Heat rose up to Marinette’s cheeks. “Wh-what are you saying?” she said. “Why would Adrien—”

“You and he are friends, aren’t you?” Tikki said. “He’s stood up to Chloé for you before. Also, it looks like everyone is getting an invitation.”

Marinette looked around the open door of her locker, and saw that several of her classmates were showing each other the same sort of card in a black envelope that Marinette had just found. Excited conversations about what they were going to wear for the party were sparking all over the locker room.

“Chloé’s behavior has improved a lot over the past few months, don’t you think?” Tikki went on in that reasonable tone of hers that Marinette was so susceptible to. “It’s been a while since she’s been mean to you.”

“She’s been mostly ignoring me,” Marinette said.

“Well, that’s progress! All I mean to say, is that there’s no reason to think that Chloé’s invitation is anything but genuine. And wouldn’t it be sad to miss a party where everybody else is going? Where _Adrien_ is going?”

Marinette sent a glare at her purse. “You know how to push my buttons, don’t you?”

“They’re not especially easy to miss,” Tikki said with a little impish smile. “Go to that party and have fun. I’m not saying that you have to become friends with Chloé, but the rocky relationship you have with her has led you astray before. If you two can manage to be civil to each other, it’ll spare you a lot of grief.”

“You’re right as always, Tikki,” Marinette said with a sigh. “It would be stupid not to go to the party just because I’m afraid of Chloé.”

The party was unsurprisingly Ladybug-themed, and guests were encouraged to disguise themselves as Ladybug, Chat Noir, or one of the known akumas. Marinette’s initial plan had been to go dressed as Climatika—even though the akuma had been a pain in the butt to defeat, Marinette had always thought that her dress looked amazing. Unfortunately, the first week of Marinette’s school break was entirely taken over by helping her parents out at the bakery and by schoolwork. Mr. Lepetit, their history and geography teacher, had given them an assignment about the First World War that she spent days struggling with. October 31 took her by surprise, and when she realized that she wouldn’t be able to finish her costume, she had no choice but to fall back on something much simpler, like Ladybug and Chat Noir’s costumes. It was of course out of the question for her to go as Ladybug, so she resigned herself to wearing Chat Noir’s outfit.

“You look great, Marinette!” Tikki exclaimed, fluttering next to Marinette’s head.

“You think so?” 

Marinette cast her reflection in the mirror a doubtful look. Her own Ladybug suit was form-fitting, but for some reason wearing Chat Noir’s black leathery costume made her feel more awkward about how tight it was. She gave the little bell at her neck a flick and tilted her head.

“It feels off,” she said, frowning.

“You’re used to seeing yourself as Ladybug,” Tikki said sagely. “And for you Chat Noir isn’t just the hero he is to the public eye. He’s your partner.”

“I kind of feel like I’m masquerading as him. Like I’m stealing his identity or something.”

“Don’t overthink it. This is just a Halloween party! A lot of people are going to be dressed up as Chat Noir, and as Ladybug too. It’s all in good fun.”

Marinette’s parents declared her costume very cute and Marinette left them feeling a little better about it. She’d expected more glances in the metro than she got, but there must have been a ton of people disguising themselves as Ladybug and Chat Noir for Halloween. This probably felt weirder to her than to anyone else. 

The party was happening at André Bourgeois’s hotel Le Grand Paris. Marinette had been there before, but the luxurious setting always made her feel a little ill-at-ease, so she was relieved to spot Alya and Nino on the sidewalk, just about to enter.

“Hey, Alya, Nino!” she shouted, running across the street to get to them. A car honked at her irritably.

“Hi, Marinette,” Nino said, giving her his fist to bump against. “Looking good.”

“Hey, girl,” Alya said. She examined Marinette with a quizzical look. “Weren’t you supposed to come as Climatika?”

“I didn’t have time to finish my costume, so I had to settle for something simpler. What do you think?”

“It looks good on you, but I think you would have looked even better as Ladybug,” Alya said.

“Oh, uh,” Marinette said, scratching the back of her head as she scrambled for an excuse. “It’s just, you know, I assume Chloé is going to dress as Ladybug, and I don’t want her to think I’m trying to overshadow her.”

Alya snorted. “Oh, Marinette. You shouldn’t care about what Chloé thinks. What do you think of my costume?”

Alya gave herself a little spin. She’d come as Lady Wifi and Nino as the Bubbler, which didn’t make much sense to Marinette. If she’d been akumatized, she’d want to forget everything about that experience, as well as make other people forget about it, but from what she could see of the guests trickling inside the hotel, Alya and Nino hadn’t been the only ones who’d decided to own to their akuma identity.

“It’s very true to life,” she told Alya, who beamed at her.

They went in the hotel together and were led to a huge ballroom on the fifth floor. Except for the guests who’d decided to put on their own akuma costume, there were a lot more Ladybugs and Chat Noirs than there were akumas. It might have been because the costumes were simpler to make or to find, or because people preferred to dress up as heroes than as villains. Marinette had seen people costumed as Ladybug before, but it still felt weird to stand in a room with so many Ladybugs, like staring into a series of distorting mirrors at the funhouse. Instinctively, she started to look around the ballroom for Adrien.

“He’s over there,” Alya told her, giving her a knowing look. 

Adrien was all the way across the room, with Chloé hanging to his arm. As expected, Chloé was wearing her Ladybug costume, but the unexpected part was that _Adrien_ was also dressed as Ladybug. Marinette’s breath caught in her throat.

“Huh,” Alya said. “I’d have thought that Chloé would have insisted on him being the Chat Noir to her Ladybug.”

“Chloé did pester him, but he told me that he preferred to dress as Ladybug because she was the real hero,” Nino said. “He’s such a fanboy.”

“ _What?_ ” Marinette exclaimed, indignation making her momentarily forget the oddness of seeing Adrien wearing _her_ costume. “Why would he say that? Chat Noir is as much a hero as Ladybug is! I didn’t know that Adrien thought something—” 

_So stupid_ , she wanted to say, but loyalty to her crush tied her tongue. So Adrien had some questionable opinions? Big deal! It was better for him to have some flaws, anyway, because otherwise he would crumple under the weight of his own perfection.

“Let’s go say hello to him,” Alya said. “And to Chloé, I guess.”

“Wait, Alya, I’m not—”

But Alya had already taken her hand, as well as Nino’s, and was dragging them across the ballroom. Adrien’s face lit up when he saw them coming his way, and he waved at them. 

“Hey,” he said. “I’m glad you could come!”

Watching him in the Ladybug costume made Marinette face burn. It was indeed form-fitting, and Adrien was, um, _fit_. Red wasn’t really his color, if she was being perfectly honest, but he looked good in everything. Not to mention that he was _wearing her costume_ and that simple sight made Marinette feel like she was about to faint.

“Marinette,” Adrien said in a voice that sounded like it came from far away. “I thought that you were coming as Climatika, but this looks good on you too.”

Marinette muttered something indistinct in response. Alya’s pointy elbow was nudging her ribs incessantly, trying to get her to formulate a proper sentence, but it wasn’t helping any. Adrien and Nino exchanged a complex handshake and it gave Marinette some time to compose herself. 

Chloé didn’t look as happy to see them as Adrien was, but to her credit she abstained from any barbed comment. “Thank you for coming to my party,” she said. “Please stay long enough to witness the main event.”

“What’s the main event?” Marinette asked.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir _in person_ will make an appearance!”

Chloé had talked loud enough that several other guests had heard her, and soon enough excited murmurs were running through the ballroom.

“How did you manage that?” Alya asked. She sounded doubtful, but Marinette saw her fingering her phone in her purse.

“I left them a message,” Chloé said triumphally. “They’re my _friends_ , you see.”

“But—“ Marinette started. She wanted to say that Ladybug and Chat Noir wouldn’t see the message unless they were suited up, but caught herself just in time—how would _she_ know that? “Are you sure they got your message?”

“Yes, that’s a good point,” Adrien said, nodding vigorously. “Maybe they’re busy tonight. Maybe they’re at a party with their own friends, or maybe there’s an akuma attack!”

“I have an alert on my phone to let me know if there’re any reported akuma attack,” Chloé said haughtily. “And what party could be more interesting than _mine_?”

Alya mumbled something uncomplimentary, but Nino shushed her and said, “Well, I hope they can come! It would be awesome to see them!”

Chloé preened for a moment while Marinette exchanged a look with Adrien, who looked as uncertain as she was about Ladybug and Chat Noir coming. Well, she told herself, it wasn’t her fault if Chloé had delusions of grandeur! Ladybug and Chat Noir had _lives_ outside of being at the beck and call of Chloé Bourgeois, and it would be good for Chloé to see that the world didn’t revolve around her. 

Marinette spent the next hour dancing and laughing with Alya, Nino and Adrien, determined to enjoy herself and pay Chloé no mind, but she couldn’t help glancing at the girl from time to time. As the night progressed, Chloé started to look more and more disgruntled. At first, she seemed angry, which aggravated Marinette enough that she couldn’t feel bad about it. But eventually the anger dissolved into disappointment and even sadness, and Marinette’s conscience started to prickle. 

“She looks really disappointed, doesn’t she?” 

Marinette had gone to get a drink at the table that displayed an abundance of drinks and snacks, and the voice startled her just as she was bringing a glass to her lips. She made a squeaky sound and spilled fruit juice over the front of her costume.

“Oh!” Adrien exclaimed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to surprise you. Here, have some napkins.”

He shoved napkins at her and she started dabbing at the wet spot on her costume. “It’s fine,” she said. “I shouldn’t get lost in my own head like that. And it’s a black costume! No one will see anything. I bet Chat Noir spills things on his costume all the time and no one ever notices.”

She hadn’t expected Adrien to throw his head back and start laughing, longer and harder than her joke warranted. “You’re right,” he said when he calmed down. “I’m sure he does.”

“So, what were you telling me?”

Adrien’s expression sobered immediately. “I was talking about Chloé and how disappointed she looks.”

Marinette risked another look in Chloé’s direction. She was sitting on a chair at the edge of the dance floor, looking defeated. Sabrina was obviously trying to cheer her up, but it didn’t seem to be working. 

“It’s silly of her to expect Ladybug and Chat Noir to drop everything for her party,” she said. “It’s not their fault if she’s so entitled.”

“I know,” Adrien said. “I tried to convince her that it’s possible that they won’t be able to come, but she wouldn’t listen to me. It looks like it’s really important to her. She doesn’t have many friends.”

“And whose fault is it?” Marinette said archly. Was Adrien trying to make her feel guilty? Damn him and his beautiful green eyes, because she could feel it working.

“Oh, it’s _her_ fault, of course,” Adrien said. “I’m not denying that. But I’ve known her for a long time, and—She’s more vulnerable that she lets on. And she always gets hung up on the smallest things, even when it’s bound to make her unhappy.”

“There’s nothing we can do about it, anyway,” Marinette said. She tried to laugh, but it came out stilted. “It’s not like we can make Ladybug and Chat Noir come, after all!”

Adrien looked thoughtful, and for a moment Marinette didn’t know whether he’d heard her. “No,” he finally said. “There isn’t anything we can do about it. Sorry, Marinette, I need to go to the bathroom.”

Once she was sure that Adrien was out of earshot, Marinette opened the purse hanging at her side to be able to talk to Tikki.

“What do you think I should do, Tikki?” she whispered. “Maybe I could make a quick apparition as Ladybug. And then I pretend there’s an akuma attack so I can get out of here, and I come out of the bathroom as Marinette and bemoan that I’m so disappointed to have missed Ladybug!”

“You shouldn’t use your miraculous frivolously,” Tikki said. “But it’s very generous of you to want to cheer up Chloé. Maybe just a quick apparition, then.”

“Okay.” Marinette looked again at Chloé’s slumped form. “All right, I’m doing this. I just need to find somewhere I can transform.”

She sneaked to the bathroom, and waited until there were no other girl in any of the stalls before she transformed. Then she sneaked out, wondering how she was going to make her entrance. She could have sworn that she was alone in the darkened hallway, so it was quite a surprise when she literally bumped into someone.

“Sorry! I was just—”

At first glance she thought that it was one of the guests dressed as Chat Noir, but the unnatural green of the boy’s eyes and the way his cat ears flicked like those of a real cat betrayed him as the _true_ Chat Noir.

“Chat Noir! It’s really you, isn’t it?”

“Ladybug? What are you doing here? There isn’t an akuma here, is there?”

“What are _you_ doing here?”

“Oh, uh, Adrien told me that Chloé was expecting us at her party and was very disappointed we weren’t there.”

“And Marinette told me!”

Chat Noir blinked, looking surprised. “That’s super nice of her,” he said. “I think she doesn’t like Chloé very much, does she?”

“Well, Chloé can be a pain,” Marinette replied off-handedly. “But if it makes her happy, we can spare her five minutes of our time, can we?”

Chat Noir’s eyes crinkled as he smiled. “Well said, my lady. How do you want us to proceed? We have to make an entrance worthy of our fans!”

Marinette rolled her eyes, but said, “I was just thinking about it. So I thought that you could—”

Everyone in the ballroom was busy dancing, but during a lull between two songs all of the guests’ attention was drawn to the chandelier hanging over their heads when a voice said, “Has someone ordered a _cat_ aclysm of fun?”

When he was sure to have secured his audience’s attention, Chat Noir made his baton grow until it reached the floor and then used it as a pole to slide down. The crowd immediately parted to give him room.

“My lady, if you will!” he called, holding a hand out. “Your devoted fans are waiting for you!”

Ladybug flew over the crowd’s heads, coming from one of the windows, and landed right next to Chat Noir. She took his offered hand, smiling wryly at him.

“You’re always so corny, kitty,” she said.

“Only for you,” he said, kissing her hand.

“Ladybug! Chat Noir!” Chloé squealed, dashing through her guests. “You’re _here_!”

Marinette found herself with an armful of Chloé and did her best to stifle her groan. “We got your message,” she said. “We were _really_ busy, but we did our best to make it.”

“Thank you!” Chloé shouted in her ear. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“We couldn’t miss our greatest fan’s party,” Chat Noir said, his voice unusually kind.

“You _have_ to take some selfies with me! Come here, come here.”

Marinette had hoped to make their apparition very short, but once they agreed to selfies with Chloé everyone else wanted one too, and they ended up spending over half-an-hour on it. Their feeble protests that there was an akuma attack fell on deaf ears. Most of the guests got alerts from the news websites that specialized in reporting akuma attacks, and all of them had been silent the whole evening. 

“We really have to go, Chloé,” Marinette said when Chloé tried to get another series of selfies with them. “Our families are waiting for us.”

She was surprised when Chloé didn’t protest. “All right, Ladybug,” she said. “Thank you for coming! It really meant a lot to me,” she added in a lower voice.

“No problem,” Marinette murmured, taken aback by the genuine gratitude in Chloé’s voice.

“Well, adoring public,” Chat Noir told the crowd. “It’s time for my lady and I to take our leave.”

Right before jumping toward one of the windows, Chat Noir addressed Marinette a smile and she smiled back at him, feeling rather good about what they’d done tonight. She pretended to leave from a window, a different one from Chat Noir, but then came back through yet another one and went to change in the bathroom. Tikki returned to her purse, but gave her a tiny thumb up and a whispered, “You did good, Marinette!” before Marinette closed the purse.

“Marinette!” Alya wailed when Marinette went back to the ballroom. “Marinette, where on earth were you? Do you know what you missed?”

Marinette widened her eyes. “No, what happened?”

The rest of the evening was spent getting her ears talked off by her friends about their encounter with Ladybug and Chat Noir. She did her best to act disappointed that she’d missed the event. Adrien, who’d also missed the whole thing, did look very disappointed, and Marinette thought with a pang that she wouldn’t have minded a selfie with him in his Ladybug costume. 

At some point, he gave her a dazzling smile and asked, “Who would you rather have had a selfie with, Marinette?”

“Chat Noir, I think,” she said, remembering the comment Nino had said he’d made about Ladybug being the real hero. “Ladybug couldn’t do anything without him, could she?”

Adrien blinked at her, then blushed for no reason. “Oh, uh, I don’t agree, but—It’s too bad that you didn’t get a selfie with Chat Noir.”

“Another time, maybe.”

“I suppose there can always be another occasion. Now, would you like to dance, Marinette?”

The next ten minutes were kind of blur, but Marinette could honestly say that she’d rarely had that much fun in her life.

**Author's Note:**

> Of course it doesn't seem possible that _no one_ noticed that Marinette and Adrien were missing the whole time that Ladybug and Chat Noir were there, or that Adrien and Marinette haven't figured each other out, but I'm only being as handwave-y about it as the show itself is. Everyone is oblivious in Miraculous Ladybug!alt!Paris! ;)


End file.
